[Corpus paper Caller.com] Rockets interested in Jay Williams?

He expects to give 4 teams workouts in August and his only requirement is he will not play in the triangle offense (LA Fakers).

 

I'd love for us to pick up JWill ... would like Duhon even more.

 

Stud in college only. He was shockingly poor during his rookie season.

Evan

 

CLASSIC......lmao.

anyway, i don't like jay williams. he has no PG skills other than ballhandling. he DID have great athleticism but who knows now, but all he really is valuable for is penetrating the lane. even then he isn't a good passer so once he's in the lane he's going to shoot. he's a very low % shooter and poor defender. he's really a volume shooting SG but only 6'2. i don't like bringing him in.

 

Not a big fan of signing a one legged point guard who underachieved his rookie year. I think i'll pass.

 

He was playing for the Chicago Bulls in which they had chemistry bc of an inferior coach (Bill Cartwright). The organization couldnt decided to put Jamal Crawford as a PG or SG. The Bulls organization had NO IDEA how to grow that team. You dont get the 2nd pick of the draft to play him behind Crawford and Hassell. He was a rookie and rookies will make mistakes. JWILL put a triple double on JKIDD in the middle of the season and he was improving toward the end of the season with more playing time.

Due to his injury, he may never be the same again....Or he can start playing well like Demarr Johnson. He is like an lowly valued penny stock waiting for an opportunity to become a mid cap stock. So where is the risk. No one in the NBA will give him a contract more than the minimum to prove his worth. He may not be a superstar, but I would rather have him as the 12th man with the potential to become something on the bench than Moochie, Ward, Baker, or Spoon. JWILL is hungary and ready to prove every1 wrong.

He made a stupid decision when he got on the bike, but he was in his early 20's. WE ALL make stupid decision when we are young. College kids get drunk every weekend. That what young college kids do. Not saying it is right, but we still do it.

 

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/2005-07-21-williams_x.htm

Posted 7/21/2005 1:45 AM

Ex-Bull Williams works for comeback
By Roscoe Nance, USA TODAY

Former Chicago Bulls point guard Jay Williams is keeping hope alive that he will be able to resume his once-promising NBA career that was cut short by a motorcycle accident two years ago.

Williams, 23, the second player picked in the 2002 draft, works out five days a week in Chicago under the supervision of Tim Grover, the trainer who whipped Michael Jordan into shape for Jordan's second comeback. Williams' daily regimen consists of 1½ hours of drills with Grover, an hour of lifting weights in the morning and three hours of pickup games in the afternoon. He also has 90 minutes of physical therapy on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.



Williams' goal is to be on some team's roster when training camps open Oct. 1. Kevin Bradbury, Williams' agent, says seven teams have said they are interested in signing his client.

"If you were to put me on the court, I would be able to play," he says. "The common person wouldn't know the difference. But for me, I'm trying to get extra quick and extra fast. It's a tuning up thing now. I'm trying to get stronger so I can endure an 82-game season."

Williams' competition in pickup games has been college players and a few athletes who play overseas. Chicago Bulls point guard Chris Duhon, who played with Williams at Duke University, and Charlotte Bobcats rookie Ray Felton, who played at North Carolina, are among the few NBA players Williams has played against.

He expects the caliber of competition to pick up as players focus on preparing for the upcoming season.

"It isn't a matter of me playing against them (NBA players) as much as it is me knowing my own game personally," Williams says. "I know my game well enough that when I'm competing and playing at a certain level, I can tell if I'll be able to handle playing against guys like that. I definitely think I will be."

Williams says he can do everything he did on the court before the accident except dunk. But he is able to grab the rim with two hands.

"I don't need to dunk to be a good basketball player," he says, adding that he's a smarter player now than he was before because of the work he did with ESPN as a college basketball analyst.

 

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune...oll=sns-ap-basketball-news&ctrack=1&cset=true

Williams Set to Play Two Years After Crash

By NANCY ARMOUR
AP National Writer

July 21, 2005, 4:49 PM CDT

CHICAGO -- Two years ago, a motorcycle crash mangled Jason Williams' left leg so badly he didn't know if he'd ever be able to walk again, much less play basketball.

He's not only back on the court these days, but running, cutting and jumping, determined to prove he's ready to return to the NBA. What once was a dream to keep him going through long hours of rehab is now his reality, and Williams is certain he'll be playing in the NBA this fall.

"I'll be somewhere by October," he said after a 45-minute workout Thursday. "It's been a long journey, it's been a long road. I'm glad I can finally see a light at the end of it."

Williams had everything going for him two summers ago. After being named the 2002 college player of the year following his junior season at Duke, the Chicago Bulls had made the guard the No. 2 pick in the draft. Though he struggled his rookie year, plagued by turnovers and poor shooting, he also showed flashes of the brilliance that had been expected.

In a November game against the New Jersey Nets, Williams dropped a triple-double on the defending Eastern Conference champs with 26 points, 13 assists and 14 rebounds.

But everything changed June 19, 2003.

Though riding a motorcycle violates the standard NBA contract, Williams had gotten a new Yamaha sportbike -- red and black, naturally. On his way to dinner that night, he lost control of the powerful bike and smashed into a utility pole. He was thrown onto a grassy curb, but the impact severed a main nerve in his left leg, fractured his pelvis and tore three of the four main ligaments in his left knee.

He was immobilized for eight weeks, first at a Chicago hospital, then at Duke University Medical Center. He was still on crutches six months after the accident, has had about a half-dozen surgeries and didn't start running full-speed until earlier this year.

"Everyone makes mistakes and that happened to me," Williams said. "But you know what? I wouldn't change it for the world. People can call me an idiot all they want, but I'm glad it happened to me because it's humbled me as a person and it's really made me pay attention to the people who are important to me in my life."

It also gave him a new appreciation for basketball.

Though Williams said from the start he wanted to play again, he admits he wasn't really sure if he could until April. That's when he came back to Chicago and started working with Tim Grover, Michael Jordan's longtime personal trainer.

"I was so nervous because Tim told me on the phone, `Listen, if I don't think you can do it, I won't take your money. We'll go our separate ways. And I'll tell you how I really feel. But if you can, we're going to push you every day,'" Williams recalled. "I got here, I was so nervous, and I worked out and Tim was like, `October, we'll have you ready.'"

"Honestly, I was like I don't know if this dude's on something or what," Williams said, laughing. "Because I still, for myself, I wasn't very confident. I was asking him, `What else do you think I should do? Do you think I should go back to school?' When he said that, after the first couple of days, I started to see that improvement."

Grover said the progress Williams has made is like "night and day." Williams was still limping when he arrived, and couldn't even touch the net. Now Williams estimates he's about 90 percent healthy, and the only visible signs of his injury are an ankle brace and a black wrap over his calf.

He spends 10-12 hours a day with Grover and his staff, doing physical therapy, Pilates and skill drills. The other day, he jumped over a 40-inch barrier. He also plays pickup games against what Grover called "high-level competition," and those are expected to get even more intense once the free agent signing period begins.

NBA players flock to Grover's gym in the summer, but no one's taking chances until they're under contract.

"He will be in a training camp this season coming up, in October. And he will be on somebody's roster," Grover said. "There's no doubt in my mind about that. ... We would not spend this much time and effort, and waste his time and our time if we didn't think it was possible."

Williams acknowledges he might never regain the explosiveness and quickness that set him apart. But he's put on seven pounds -- he now weighs 203 -- and is broader in the shoulders.

The time off also made him a smarter player, with most of his free time devoted to watching basketball.

"I know the game so much better right now that it just makes it easier for me when I play on the court," he said. "Be a point guard, lead my team, get my assists and hit open shots when I can, that's the kind of player I'm going to be."

While no team has offered him a contract yet, agent Kevin Bradbury said there are six to eight teams that have been checking on his progress. He'll do official workouts as soon as he clears the last few hurdles in his rehab program.

Williams' preference is to rejoin the Bulls, who waived him in February 2004 after buying out the last two years of his contract. But Chicago already has Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon, and general manager John Paxson wants to bring Chris Duhon back.

Besides, where Williams ends up is only a minor detail in the journey.

"Every day of my life for the past two years, people look at me with such sympathy. They feel really bad for me," Williams said. "I look at them and I'm like, `You don't have to feel bad for me.' First of all, I'm still living, I'm here. There was a big chance I could have lost my life.

"This is gravy on the side," he said. "I'm getting the chance to play basketball, play the game I love. I look forward to showing everybody what I can do."

 

if he's all healed... what's with the crutches

 

??
He was handed the starting role in training camp over Crawford (who shat bricks over it) and fell flat on his face, eventually asking to be put on the IL because he couldn't handle the pressure and frustration. He never got his starting role back and Crawford outplayed him big time for the rest of the season.

stats for Williams only year

 

(Scar or Strad?)

What could we offer him? I don't know what he qualify's for or what we would have available outside of the CBA extra's, LLE MLE etc. I guess you would have to assume he would sign sometime before Yao's extension and we go over the cap forever.

Does anybody know yet how the NBDL slots are going to work? Could we sign someone like Jwill and let him get a 1/2 a season or a season of rehab ball in Austin? (another ticket seller) How many players could we do that with (thinking Badiane)

 

GATER, comparing Jason Williams to Mike James is absolutely asynine. I don't even have to confirm why it's is so ludicrous.

 

"Williams acknowledges he might never regain the explosiveness and quickness that set him apart. But he's put on seven pounds -- he now weighs 203 -- and is broader in the shoulders."

Doesn't sound too good to me.

 

The guy wasn't a great PG when he was healthy. Heck, he didn't play PG at Duke, Chris Duhon did! Please, just get Damon Stoudamire, lets make a run at a championship now!

 

We have an LLE to offer or the vet min. Vet min can be sweetened for players like this making them guarantted for some of the year, or I think up to two years. I'd be surprised if JW got more than LLE. Personally, I wouldn't want to use our LLE on him. It is too likely he would not break the active roster for this year, and we might be able to get a proven NBA swingman with the LLE late in free agency.

I actually don't know if you sign a guy to a contract but send him to the NBDL if it counts towards your 15 active/inactive players . In other words, I don't know if players under contract in the NBDL they are counted as "inactive" or not at all. JW would be appealling if he got go there and not count towards our 15 slots, but if he counts towards our 15 I would not do it this year.

If Gater's point it is unlikely Jason Williams becomes a better NBA player than Mike James he is totally accurate. It is even more remote JW would be more able to contribute to the Rockets this year than Mike James.

Next year we will have Mooch, Baker, Spoon, Wesley, Ward and maybe James (player option) off the roster--lots more room take on flyers. This year is not the time to take flyer as we have 4 of our 15 spots wasted among those guys. With our 1 available active roster spot among guys like Glover, Baxter or another free agent like Stoudamire (or two active slots if Wesley or James is part of a trade OR if Barry is not resigned; I assume Deke is resigned) we want someone who we can for sure count on.

The timing just isn't right for Jason Williams to join the Rockets this year. (Unless we can stash him away in the NDBL for a 2 year vet min contract AND this does not cost us an active roster spot--this is not clear to me from the new CBA)

 

Jay Williams is a poor man's Steve Francis, except that Steve was a better shooter as a rookie and could hit free throws.

Maybe the kid is motivated, but regardless I'm sick of talking about point guards...unless the Rockets plan on playing next year in a YMCA league. We have a glut of point/combo guards and need to start thinning their numbers.

 

Thank you. I was scratching my chin trying to figure out why anyone would question the comparison. There were only 2 possible reasons I could imagine. A severe case of "Duke-itis" or an extremely low opinion of Mike James. Which I surely don't share.

 

Gater and Desert Scar,

Can y'all say Bobby Hurley? He and j.Will. were both great until their accidents. Actually, I take that back: both were great in college and okay in the PROs until their accidents.

JWill would come cheap, but with Mike James we have zero need for JWill.

 

There has to be a severe case of Mike Jamesitis. When I think of basketball point guards, I think of distributing point guards. Mike James is not a distributor. You can see the 3.6 average in assists he had last year and that is not very encouraging. But you'll say he has a close to 40% three point percentage. The point I'm trying to make is we don't necessarily need a point guard like him so much as we need a distributing point guard to take the pressure off Tracy McGrady. That was absolutely nuts him running the offense during the playoffs and then taking it upon himself to guard Dirk Nowitzki. Meanwhile Mike James is jacking up threes and Tracy is waving him off. I do like Mike James. I just don't like him as much as a fit for our team as much as I would prefer Jason Williams. Anyone that can see him play and Mike James play would be able to contend that Jason Williams at a subjective "80%" would be a better fit for our team in the LONG RUN than Mike James would be. Of course I am also factoring in that we will ultimately sign Damon Stoudamire for the LLE.

Cute comment about the severe case of Dukeitis. If you watch basketball however, you'll see that Jason Williams never plays again, you'll see that Jason Williams almost had a better season in his rookie season than Mike James has during his career. Rookie or not, he slams Mike James in the assists category (4.7 apg rookie season to MJ's 3.6 apg last year with the Bucks and Rockets.) oh yeah, factor this in as well. Jason Williams was playing with a VERY young team that couldn't shoot if their respective lives' depended on it. What would MJ's excuse be? Our Rockets had shooters last year. One more tidbit for you to chew on, Their minutes are almost identical. Jason Williams is working with Tim Grover, Michael Jordan's trainer. Tim Grover doesn't take people's money, nor train them unless he knows for a fact that they won't be wasting his or their own time. If Tim Grover is endorsing Jason Williams, and he is, then I'll take his word for it. Unless one of you naysayers are actually training him as well, lol then I'll still be happy with Mike James. In my personal preference, I'll take Jason and his enormous talent over Mike James two dimensional play (shooting, defense) anyday.

 

So when Jason Williams has all his physical abilities he put up a season similar to James on a terrible Bulls team. He also had a worse A/TO ratio and worse shooting numbers than James has had for any season.

A lot more important than total assists is assists-to-turnovers. Mike James is quite adequate in this respect. Lots of other point guards on championship teams-- Parker, Kenny Smith, Derrick Fisher, Harper/Kerr, Paxton--didn't have great total assist numbers. Part of it comes in the territory of playing around other great players who make the decisions with the ball.

I don't think James is a good starting 1, but he is an excellent back-up. The offensive punch, physicality, and intensity, is precisely what that Rockets want in a back-up point guard. Jay W would have even less likelihood of beating out James of this back-up role than Head does, and Head does have much of a shot at it at least this year.